Christians Love Company
They say misery loves company. I can't disagree. Though I'd feel compelled to add that misery is not unique, nearly everybody, in every state, loves company. The joyful love to be with the joyful, the cynic with the cynical, the optimist with the optimistic. Similar people feel an attraction to one another, a gravity which makes it easy for them to share an orbit. Why? In a word, encouragement. Keeping company with someone like me fills me with motivation to continue being who I am.
Recently, a good friend asked me to answer this question; “What is it like to be a Christian?” I wanted to share my answer with you, because not only does misery love company, Christians love company. We walk the same path, and I hope hearing about my walk will help motivate you to continue yours.
What is it like to be a Christian?
To be a Christian is to fight a constant war. Not a war according to the flesh, but one fought on a spiritual battlefield (II Corinthians 10:3-5). It is a struggle, a conflict. Anyone with the slightest sense of the spiritual can detect the fog of spiritual warfare all about us. We walk a true and righteous path, upon which our enemy has placed trials and temptations. Haven't you felt them? Haven't we all noticed how he works? Every day he presses down upon us. He tries seduction and exhaustion, frustration and humiliation, deception, boredom and monotony. Constantly, the Devil and his demons strive to gain ground in the conquest of our souls. Haven't you felt the pressure? To be a Christian is to fight a constant war, yet a war in which we've been given the weapons necessary to emerge victorious (II Corinthians 10:4). If you're a Christian you fight the same war I fight, I hope you remember that you've got company.
To be a Christian is to engage in a costly enterprise. I've learned quickly that Christianity is not for the selfish and frugal. I'm reminded of the words of Paul. “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering...” (II Timothy 4:6). Paul poured himself out, he let himself be spent completely for the cause of our Lord. That's our call. To be a Christian is to deny myself, take up my cross and follow Jesus. It is to not love the world nor the things in the world. It is to understand and fully realize what Paul means when he writes, “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20). I do not mean to imply that I myself have achieved this level of self-denial. I have not. I only wish to convey the message that we Christians are all attempting to reach higher levels of self-denial. The Christian walk has forced me to give less to myself and more to God. If you are a Christian you should be learning how to say “no” to self and “yes” to Christ, I hope you remember that you've got company.
To be a Christian is to be free from despair and hopelessness. I do not mean that Christians are immune to those feelings. I definitely have had moments when I felt my predicament was hopeless. Maybe in the middle of a fight, maybe after succumbing to temptation again, maybe when I feel like sin is my only option. Those situations can lead us to despair, but, for the Christian, all despair is momentary delusion. The Christian always has reason to hope! Difficult times will come, but even in the slums and troughs of life, hope persists (I Corinthians 13:13). Our Lord provides and overwhelming source of hope which no physical suffering can comprehend. That is the salvation of our souls. If you are a Christian you've always got hope (II Corinthians 4:8). I hope when you are tempted to despair you'll remember that you've got company.
To be a Christian is to walk the only true way. To be a Christian is to be like Christ. That's what the word means. Christ would call Himself, “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). To be a Christian is to go the right way. It is correct: free from error. It is true: free from deceit. It is living: free from the power of death and Satan. If you are a Christian you've picked the right way! You've picked the path you were created to follow. You've picked the example you were created to exemplify. You're fulfilling the plan made for you before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4). You're on the right track. If ever you are tempted to think otherwise, I hope you remember that you've got company.
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